Gear finishing machines



y 0, 1966 J. A. MILLS 3,250,178

GEAR FINISHING MACHINES Filed June 15, 1961 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 10, 1966 J. A. MILLS GEAR FINISHING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 15, 1961 May 10, 1966 J. A. MILLS GEAR FINISHING MACHINES '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Slli l l m Filed June 15, 1961 May 10, 1966 J. A. MILLS GEAR FINISHING MACHINES '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 15, 1961 May 10, 1966 .1. A. MILLS GEAR FINISHING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 15, 1961 May 10, 1966 .1. A. MILLS GEAR FINISHING MACHINES '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 15, 1961 y 10, 1966 J. A. MILLS 3,250,178

GEAR FINISHING MACHINES Filed June 15, 1961 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 -United States Patent 3,250,178 GEAR FINISHING MACHINES John Alfred Mills, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, assignor to National Broach & Machine Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed June 15, 1961, Ser. No. 117,441 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 25, 1961,

,7 82/ 60 2 Claims. (Cl. 901.6)

means whereby the gear supporting table can be rocked about said axis when traversed with the frame or first table.

In some such machines the gear supporting table, while being rocked about a transverse axis, may be traversed in any direction relative to the work gear axis for what is known as diagonal cross axis finishing.

The present invention has for its object to provide improvements in such gear finishing machines by which the machine can be used for conventional gear crowning, for tapered gear finishing, for crowning gears with tapered teeth or for conventional parallel tooth gear finishing.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a machine of the kind set forth embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURES 8, 9, 10 and 11 show theadjustments made to meet various requirements in gear finishing; and

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view showing alternative means for raising and lowering the longitudinal centre line of the shaft.

As shown in the drawings the improved machine is provided with a frame 10 having an overhanging portion 11 from which depends ahead 12 which rotatably supports a power driven gear type cutter 13, the head being rotatable about a vertical axis. A knee 14 is positioned below said overhanging portion and is mounted to move vertically on ways 14a on the frame, best seen in FIGURE 2, by suitable vertical feed screw mechanism indicated diagrammatically at 14b in FIGURE 1. On the knee 14 are ways or tracks 17 on which rollers 18 are adapted to roll. A shaft 19 extends freely through the rollers. The shaft is guided by means of a frame 20 provided with aligned openings 23 in which are journalled hubs 24 which are integral with the rollers and extend axially therefrom. The shaft 19 passes through the hubs, suitable means such as circlets 25 inserted in annular grooves in the hubs being provided to prevent axial movement of the hubs, and therefore the rollers, relative to the frame.

The frame 20 at the two ends thereof is provided with centrally positioned tenons 26 of inverted T formation, which tenons travel in T-shaped keyways 27 formed in the knee. It will be seen that by reason of the frame, its tenons and the keyways, the frame and rollers must travel in a fixed path which cannot be varied. The tablev 15, which carries the gear supporting stocks 16a or centres by which the gear to be finished is rotatably Patented May 10, 1966 supported, is provided with a front and rear downwardly extending web 29 having aligned openings positioned centrally between the two ends of the table and the projecting ends of the shaft 19 fit snugly in the said openings. Further the under face of the table has a half bearing 30 which makes bearing contact with the shaft.

The knee, the frame and the gear supporting table so far described are as set forth in my patent, 3,064,977. The means for traversing the frame and gear supporting table is also set forth in my said patent and as details of such means are not necessary to the understanding of the present invention they will be herein described only briefly.

The frame 20 and rollers 18 are movable back and forth along the tracks or ways 17. The shaft 19 is movable with the frame 20 along the ways 17 but it is also movable independently of or relative to the frame and rollers by virtue of the fact that the rollers are free on the shaft 19. Accordingly, the table 15, in addition to being capable of rocking movement about the axis of the shaft 19, is movable in any direction in a horizontal plane. Movement of the table 15 in a direction parallel to the ways 17 does not result in any movement of the shaft 19 relative to the frame 20 and rollers 18. Movement of the table 15 in a direction parallel to the axis of the shaft 19 does not result in any movement of the frame 20 and rollers 18. Movement of the table 15 in an oblique direction results both in movement of the frame and rollers parallel to the ways 17 and in movement of the shaft 19 relative to the frame 20 and rollers 18 parallel to the axis of the shaft. l

In order to provide for horizontal movement of the table 15 in any desired direction there is provided a rotatable plate 31 which may be adjusted about a vertical axis by a-worm 32 engaging a worm gear formed on a portion depending from the plate 31. Carried by bearing means 33 on the plate is a feed screw 34 threadedly engaged by a feed nut 35 carried by a slide 36 mounted in ways 37 provided on the plate 31. Extending upwardly from the slide 36 is a pin 38 which extends through a diametral opening provided in the shaft 19. The feed screw 34 is rotated through bevel gearing indicated at 39 and 40.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the table 15 may be rotated in any direction in a horizontal plane by angular adjustment of the plate 31, this adjustment rotating the feed screw and nut to extend in the direction of desired table travel. The slide 36 carrying the nut 35 is thus caused to move in parallelism with the screw and this motion of the slide is transmitted by the pin 38 to the shaft 19.

According to the present invention as shown in the drawings the knee is provided with a transversely extending bearing 40 positioned towards one end thereof and in said bearing is fitted a sleeve 41 with an eccentric bore. Through the bore extends a shaft 42, the sleeve having bearing faces 43 and 44 towards the two ends thereof. A worrn 45 and worm wheel 46 are provided to adjust rotatably the sleeve so as to raise and lower the centre line of the shaft, the worm wheel being cut in the shaft between the two bearing faces 43 and 44 and the worm being carried by a spindle 46a having flats at its outer end for engagement by a suitable tool or provided with a knob, hand-wheel or the like by which it can be manually rotated to effect the aforesaid adjustment. The two ends of the shaft 42 are provided with tenons 47 and 48.

The webs 29 are provided with aligned circular openings located towards one end of the gear supporting table and in said openings are fitted so as to be rotatable therein cylindrical members 49 and 50 each having a diametrical slideway 51 on their inner face. The aforesaid tenons 47 and 48 fit into the sideways.

- wise horizontal.

A worm wheel 52 is cut in the cylindrical member 49 and meshing therewith is a worm 53 on a spindle 54. This spindle has likewise flats at its outer end for engagement by a suitable tool or is provided with a knob, handwheel or the like by which it can be rotated to effect the angular adjustment of the slideways, the adjustment of the cylindrical member 49 being transmitted through the shaft 42 to the other cylindrical member 50.

A suitably graduated dial is provided to indicate the position of the sleeve with eccentric bore and therefore the vertical adjustment of the axis of the shaft, and a further dial is provided to indicate the angle of the slideways relative to the horizontal.

In FIGURES 8 to 11 are shown various combinations of such adjustments and the position of the gear supporting table resulting therefrom, said table being shown in full lines in its central position and in dotted lines in its extreme positions resulting from the travel of the frame 22 which carries the shaft 19 and gear supporting table mounted thereon.

For parallel tooth gear finishing, see FIGURE 8, the rotatable cylindrical members 49 and 50 are adjusted so that the slideways are horizontal and the sleeve 41 rotatably adjusted so that the gear supporting table is like- With such adjustment the table remains horizontal while being traversed.

For conventional crowning such gear the setting of the sleeve remains unaltered but the cylindrical members 49 and 50 are adjusted so' that their slideways are inclined to the horizontal, see FIGURE 9. With such adjustment the table is horizontal in the middle position of its traverse, when moved from such position in one direction it simultaneously partakes of a clockwise movement, and when moved from the said position in theother direction it partakes of an anti-clockwise movement. Thus if the clockwise movement is 1 the anti-clockwise movement is 1 and the table is tilted through 2.

' For taper gear finishing the sleeve is adjusted so that the table 'is inclined to the horizontal and the slideways are set in the horizontal position, see FIGURE 10. With such adjustment the table retains its inclined position during its travel.

For taper gear crowning the sleeve is adjusted as for taper gear finishing and the slideways inclined, see FIG- URE 11. The table will then be rocked as it is traversed, but in this case the rocking movement is modified so that the table takes up a horizontal position when it is a little away from the central position of traverse and its clockwise movement when travelling from its horizontal position is no longer equal to its anti-clockwise movement when travelling'in the other direction from its horizonta position. Thus in lieu of the table moving say l clockwise and 1 anti-clockwise it may be moved clockwise and 1% anti-clockwise.

The improved machine may be provided with means for traversing the table in any desired path as set forth in my said co-pending patent. In such case the shaft 42 will slide axially with reference .toits bearing when the table is being traversedfor diagonal cross axis finishing.

In a modification of the improved machine only one rotatably adjustable side member is carried by the table 15 and in such case only one end of the shaft 42 is provided with a tenon which slides in the slidew-ay .of the side member. The table at the opposite side thereof would then be provided with a button or the like in alignment with the other end of the shaft, the button serving to push the shaft through the transverse bearing during diagonal traverse.

Any other means may be provided to raise and lower the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Thus, as shown in FIGURE 12, the bearing 40 through which extends the shaft 42 is vertically slidable in a guide support 55 carried by the knee. The support is provided with an overhanging bracket 56 through which passes the upper end of a screw 57 which screws within an internally threaded hole in the bearing 40. The head 58 of the screw rests on the bracket and is provided with flats so that the screw can be rotated by means of a suitable tool. It will be apparent that by rotating the screw the bearing 40 and therefore the shaft 42 can be raised and lowered as may be required relative to the knee.

What I claim is:

1. In a gear finishing machine comprising a frame, a first support, adjustable means intermediate said frame and first support mounting said first support for reciprocation in any selected direction in a reference plane and for rocking movement about an axis parallel to said reference plane, the axis of rocking of said first support having a fixed direction relative to said frame independent of the direction of reciprocation of said first support, rotary supportmeans on said first support for mounting a gear like member for rotation with its axis parallel to said reference plane and perpendicular to the axis of rocking of said first support, a second support, means mounting said second support on said frame for angular adjustment about an axis perpendicular to said reference plane, second rotary support means on said second support for mounting a second gear-like member for rotation about an axis parallel to said reference plane, means for adjusting one of said supports toward and away from 'the other support in a direction perpendicular to said reference plane, means for driving one of said rotary supports in rotation and means for reciprocating said one support in the selected direction, the improvement which comprises crowning mechanism connecting said frame and said first support at a zone spaced substantially from the axis of rocking of said first support, said mechanism comprising a cam member, a cam follower member, support means for one of said members on said frame, support means for the other member on said first support, said first support in some positions of adjustment of the adjustable means having a substantial component of motion parallel to its rockingaxis during reciprocation of said first support, one of said support means comprising a straight elongated rigid element extending in a direction parallel to the rocking axis of said first support, and means slidably engaging said rigid element for sliding movement relative thereto longitudinally of said rigid element, said cam member having a cam surface extending in a plane perpendicular to said reference plane and to the rocking axis of said first support and adjustable in such plane about an axis parallel to the rocking axis of said first support, said cam follower member having a follower portion arranged to follow said cam surface, means responsive to reciprocation of said first support in a direction having a component of motion parallel to the rocking axis of said first first support, adjustable means intermediate said frame,

and said first support mounting said first support for re cipro cation in any selected direction in a horizontal plane and for rocking movement about a horizontal axis, the said axis of rocking having a fixed direction relative to said frame independent of the direction of reciprocation of said first support, rotary support means on said first support for mounting a gear-like member for rotation with its axis generally horizontal and perpendicular to the axis of rocking of said first support, a second support, means mounting said second support on said frame above said first support for angular adjustment about a vertical axis, second rotary support means on said second support for mounting a second gear-like member for rotation about a horizontal axis, means for adjusting one of said supports vertically, means for driving one of said rotary support means in rotation, and means for reciprocating said first support in the selected direction in the horizontal plane, the improvement which comprises crowning mechanism connecting said frame and first support at a zone spaced substantially from the axis of rocking of said first support, said mechanism comprising a cam member, a cam follower member, support means for one of said members on said frame, support means for the other of said members on said first support, said first support in some positions of adjustment of said adjustable means having a subtantial component of motion parallel to its axis of rocking during reciprocation of said first support, one of said support means comprising a straight elongated rigid element extending parallel to the rocking axis of said first support, and means slidably engaging said rigid element for slidable movement relative thereto longitudinally of said rigid element, said cam member having a cam surface extending in a vertical plane perpendicular to the axis of rocking of said first support and adjustable in such plane about an axis parallel to the axis of rocking of said first support, said cam follower member having a follower portion arranged to follow said cam surface, and means responsive to reciprocation of said first support in a direction having a component of motion parallel to the rocking axis of said first support to eifect such relative sliding between said straight elongated rigid element and the means slidably engaged therewith longitudinally of said element as required to keep said cam follower portion and said cam surface properly engaged.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM W. DYER, 111., Primary Examiner.

LEON PEAR, Examiner.

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, I. E. SCHARDT, L. B. TAY- LOR, Examiners. 

1. IN A GEAR FINISHING MACHINE COMPRISING A FRAME, A FIRST SUPPORT, ADJUSTABLE MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID FRAME AND FIRST SUPPORT MOUNTING SAID FIRST SUPPORT FOR RECIPROCATION IN ANY SELECTED DIRECTION IN A REFERENCE PLANE AND FOR ROCKING MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE, THE AXIS OF ROCKING OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT HAVING A FIXED DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME INDEPENDENT OF THE DIRECTION OF RECIPROCATION OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, ROTARY SUPPORT MEANS ON SAID FIRST SUPPORT FOR MOUNTING A GEARLIKE MEMBER FOR ROTATION WITH ITS AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE AND PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF ROCKING OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, A SECOND SUPPORT, MEANS MOUNTING SAID SECOND SUPPORT ON SAID FRAME FOR ANGULAR ADJUSTMENT ABOUT AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE, SECOND ROTARY SUPPORT MEANS ON SAID SECOND SUPPORT FOR MOUNTING A SECOND GEAR-LIKE MEMBER FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER SUPPORT IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE, MEANS FOR DRIVING ONE OF SAID ROTARY SUPPORT IN ROTATION AND MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAID ONE SUPPORT IN THE SELECTED DIRECTION, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES CROWNING MECHANISM CONNECTING SAID FRAME AND SAID FIRST SUPPORT AT A ZONE SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY FROM THE AXIS OF ROCKING OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A CAM MEMBER, A CAM FOLLOWER MEMBER, SUPORT MEANS FOR ONE OF SAID MEMBERS ON SAID FRAME, SUPPORT MEANS FOR THE OTHER MEMBER ON SAID FIRST SUPPORT, SAID FIRST SUPPORT IN SOME POSITIONS OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE ADJUSTABLE MEANS HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL COMPONENT OF MOTION PARALLEL TO ITS ROCKING AXIS DURING RECIPROCATION OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, ONE OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISING S STRAIGHT ELONGATED RIGID ELEMENT EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE ROCKING AXIS OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, AND MEANS SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID RIGID ELEMENT FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID RIGID ELEMENT, SAID CAM MEMBER HAVING A CAM SURFACE EXTENDING IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID REFERENCE PLANE AND TO THE ROCKING AXIS OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT AND ADJUSTABLE IN SUCH PLANE ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE ROCKING AXIS OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT, SAID CAM FOLLOWER MEMBER HAVING A FOLLOWER PORTION ARRANGED TO FOLLOW SAID CAM SURFACE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO RECIPROCATION OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT IN A DIRECTION HAVINGH A COMPONENT OF MOTION PARALLEL TO THE ROCKING AXIS OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT TO EFFECT SUCH RELATIVE SLIDING BETWEEN SAID STRAIGHT ELONGATED RIGID ELEMENT AND THE MEANS SLIDABLY ENGAGED THEREWITH LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID ELEMENT AS REQUIRED TO KEEP SAID CAM FOLLOWER PORTION AND SAID CAM SURFACE PROPERLY ENGAGED. 